2002 Clerides and Denktash begin UN-sponsored talks in January.

Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, presents a comprehensive peace plan in November to reunite Cyprus as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal republic with a single sovereignty.
A December EU summit in Copenhagen invites Cyprus to join the bloc in 2004.

Concerned they could miss out on EU entry, Turkish Cypriots demonstrate in huge numbers in late 2002 and early 2003, demanding that Denktash must either accept the Annan Plan or resign.